STB: "Ed Murray Throws Seattle Under the Train"

As a quick bit of background, subarea equity is a policy in which Sound Transit is split into five subareas – and money collected in a subarea must be spent in that subarea. This means money collected in Seattle essentially stays in Seattle, money collected on the eastside stays on the eastside...

Murray claims that his reason for wanting to remove subarea equity would be to focus transit investment in Seattle—but the outcome of removing it would be the opposite. As a transit advocate who wants Seattle to have more grade separated transit, this is scary because it’s a direct threat to a new line in the city, and it’s scary because a mayoral candidate should have a better grasp of the issues.

If Seattle is going to build a functional light rail network in Seattle—a complete Seattle Subway, if you will—it will be by spending money raised by Seattle to building that rail network in Seattle. That's where we have the greatest tax base, the greatest density, the greatest need for transit, and the votes to pass it. We won't get there if we allow suburban voters, who aren't as thrilled about spending money on this stuff, to serve as an obstacle and delay for future votes on construction. Moving at the sluggish pace the whole region approves transit, we wouldn't complete a complete light-rail network for another hundred years. That's stupid. If Murray were smart about transportation, he'd be at the forefront of trying to build that transit system in his lifetime. Pro-transit voters might even support him in his run for mayor.

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